Bharat Nirman: New label for core reforms

RUN-UP TO THE BUDGET 2005

The projects would be in line with UPA's 'Aam Aadmi' campaign.

The government is set to brand its initiatives on infrastructure as Bharat Nirman. This is seen as the ruling United Progressive Alliance's answer to "Bharat Uday", the previous Vajpayee government's election slogan.

Senior government sources said today Bharat Nirman would aim at giving the "big picture" to works undertaken by the government in line with its 'Aam Aadmi' campaign that propelled the Congress to power in 2004.

More than that, it would address the issue of how to put a UPA stamp on programmes initiated during the National Democratic Alliance regime, like the rural roads programme, the sources said.

A slew of infrastructure projects for rural India is part of this scheme. These projects include rural health, repackaging the NDA's pradhan mantri gram sadak yojna for rural roads, water and irrigation, and housing and rural telecom.

An "urban renewal mission" with certain conditions that state governments and municipal bodies will have to fulfil, including economic reforms at the state level, will be launched as part of the initiative.

Bharat Nirman will be on for the next four years, 2005-09, and is envisaged as the one that repackages many existing rural and urban programmes of the government.

"Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is keen on the Bharat Nirman scheme. Coupled with the scheme for urban renewal that is with the Planning commission, it will be the vision for the Budget," said a government source. The scheme is to be implemented through different ministries.

The source added Singh had been "hands-on" when it came to the Budget as this would be the first "real" Budget for the UPA government. "He has met Finance Minister P Chidambaram several times, and many times in the last week alone," said the source. "On the expenditure side, this is top priority for the Prime Minister," he added.

A broad outline of the scheme was first announced when Singh had recently given his road map to various ministries for the next six months. Some parts of the Bharat Nirman have already been revealed.

For example, almost the entire Budget for the New Food For Work Programme (NFFWP) of Rs 6000 crore will be spent on irrigation through the rural development ministry.

The sources said Bharat Nirman was being positioned as a big opportunity for corporate India to involve itself in the public-private partnership for nation-building.